Opportunities and challenges ahead
18 Feb 2025 afternoon – 19 2025 Feb morning
at Silversquare Bailli in Brussels
Circular fertilisers help us protect our soils and ecosystems, decrease EU dependence on fertiliser imports, and improve resource efficiency. However, there is a lack of understanding on the full socio-economic and environmental benefits of circular fertilisers. The adaptation of the existing technical and legal framework as well as targeted support to innovation on nutrient recycling, will facilitate the broader use and production of circular fertilisers across Europe. Circular fertiliser producers, farmers, civil society organisations, academia and policymakers will get together to discuss the state-of-play and the future of circular fertilisers in Europe.
PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME
DAY 1: 18 FEBRUARY, Afternoon
| Time | Activity | Speaker(s) |
| 13:00 – 13:30 | Registration | — |
| 13:30 – 13:45 | Welcome and introduction | FER-PLAY coordinator – Dr. José M. Soriano (CETENMA) |
| 13:45 – 14:00 | Keynote from DG AGRI: focus on next institutional cycle (CAP), need to boost domestic production of circular fertilisers in the EU and to enable a sustainable and fair transition towards sustainable agriculture. | Mr. Stephanos Kirkagaslis (DG AGRI) |
| 14:00 – 14:30 | Environmental benefits and cost-competitiveness of circular fertilisers Two invited speakers present how circular fertilizers help us replace the use of energy-intensive synthetic fertilisers and protect the health of our soils and the surrounding ecosystems. Followed by a Q&A. | TBC |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | Re-thinking LCA and LCC: enabling full accountability of the socio-economic benefits of circular fertilisers Presentations and panel discussion. The existing LCA methodology is not well suited to account for the effects of the application of different fertilizers on soils. Either the development of new indicators and characterization/emission factors, or the conduction of LCA alongside other specific assessments is needed to enable broader production and use of circular fertilisers. Followed by a Q&A. | Hasler Iglesias Yañes (CETENMA) Jorge Senán (Vic University) |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Coffee Break | — |
| 15:30 – 16:30 | FER-PLAY recommends – flagship outcomes and considerations for the circular fertilisers community – FER-PLAY value chains database – How to scale-up circular fertilisers production – Recommendations to foster market uptake – for farmers, producers and local administrations | INAGRO (speaker TBD) NuReSys (speaker TBD) Eva María López (CIC) |
| 16:30 – 16:45 | Conclusions and wrap up | Dr. Elisa Gambuzzi (CETENMA) |
DAY 2: 19 FEBRUARY, Morning
| Time | Activity | Speaker(s) |
| 08:30 –09:00 | Registration | — |
| 09:00 – 09:10 | Welcome | FER-PLAY coordinator – Dr. José M. Soriano (CETENMA) |
| 09:10 – 09:30 | Keynote – R&D keys for market uptake of circular fertilisers | TBC |
| 09:30 – 10:30 | Policy recommendations from FER-PLAY and fellow projects. Keynote on regulatory aspects: FER-PLAY, Lucile Sever (EBA) 15’ Co-creation exercise with fellow projects | Moderation by NOVAFERT project Roundtable speakers: TBC |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee break and expo area | — |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Circular fertilisers: what’s next to be done? – insights from fellow-projects Streamlining research and innovation on nutrients recycling Discussion moderated by the sister project, NOVAFERT and involving other research projects working on the topic. | Moderation by Dr. Elisa Gambuzzi (CETENMA) Roundtable speakers: TBC |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Hybrid session for consumers, food retailers and local administrators | TBC |
| 13:00 – 14:00 | Networking lunch and expo area |
